


Fifteen Minutes

by OTPshipper98



Series: Harry Potter in English [50]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Resolutions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 09:03:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17241404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OTPshipper98/pseuds/OTPshipper98
Summary: Some resolutions come true before the clock even hits midnight.





	Fifteen Minutes

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Quince Minutos](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17244647) by [OTPshipper98](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OTPshipper98/pseuds/OTPshipper98)



> Thanks to KristinaBird for betaing ❤

Funny how time should keep passing even when he felt frozen in place, trapped in a bunch of fears that belonged in the past.  
  
Funny how the worst year of Draco’s life was about to end, and he was still… alive. Alive to see what 1999 would bring.  
  
He was terrified. It was no use hiding it—everyone around him was, too. He could see it in their faces, in their body language—in the way Finnigan was muttering into the crook of Dean’s neck, and in the whiteness of Weasley’s knuckles as he held on to Granger’s hand.  
  
He could see it in Potter. In all of him.    
  
“Fifteen more minutes, lads,” Parvati said, voice strained. The Eighth Year common room  sparkled with low conversations here and there.  
  
Draco continued to stare at Potter. Everyone else seemed to be sharing the last minutes of the year with someone else—that had been the whole point of staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, after all—but Potter was… alone. Not with Granger and Weasley. Not with Longbottom, who was lying on Hannah’s lap, staring at the ceiling as she caressed his hair. Not with any of the classmates he’d started to call a family in the previous months.  
  
Of all people, Draco hadn't expected Potter to be alone tonight.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Millicent hand Pansy a butterbeer, saying, “Any resolutions?”  
  
Pansy stared at the half-empty bottle, then up at the people around her. Her gaze wandered towards Parvati, who was already staring at her.  
  
“Yes,” she said, a half-smile that felt out of place pulling at her lips. “My resolution for 1999 is to keep a certain Gryffindor in my life after we leave Hogwarts.”  
  
A few hesitant smiles bloomed around them.  
  
"Well, my New Year’s resolution is to pass all my NEWTs," Justin cut in. His friends snickered and rolled their eyes.  
  
"Mine too," said Granger. "And to find my parents."  
  
Silence crept over the room again. It impregnated Draco with its emptiness, and as Weasley murmured, "Don't worry, we will find them," Draco's attention was drawn back to Potter.  
  
As though Potter was his source of hope.  
  
The thought felt so right it sent a thrill down Draco's spine.  
  
"Well," Blaise prompted, "my resolution for 1999 is to have Draco stop staring at Potter and do something about his hopeless crush on him."  
  
Draco's insides exploded into a fire that reached his cheeks. He could feel every gaze in the room on him, could hear the murmurs and snickers, but the only thing he could process was the gleam in Potter's stupidly green eyes as he examined Draco's expression.  
  
After five agonizing seconds, Potter's gaze softened into a goofy, definitely-not-attractive grin. "I'll tell you what," the git said. "That sounds like an amazing resolution. I'm adding it to my list."

“Ten minutes,” Padma’s voice rang across the room. Ten minutes until the new year, and Draco was already dreading it.

Everyone’s attention eventually shifted away from him and Potter and towards their own resolutions. Draco sunk on the sofa, carefully avoiding Potter’s eyes . Oh, he was going to _murder_ Blaise. Sure, his fights with Potter had turned into a tamer, almost friendly banter after a few weeks of uncomfortable silence, but _that didn’t_ _mean_ —

“Hey.”

Draco’s head snapped up. Potter was staring at him from above, his silly, hopeful expression back in place.

When Draco didn’t reply, Potter propped himself on the sofa beside him.

“What are you doing?!” Draco panicked.

Potter raised his hands, staring at Draco with big eyes. “Just sitting down with you, is that a crime?”

Draco scowled. The movement drew Potter’s attention to Draco’s lips, and the git didn’t even try to pretend he wasn’t staring. “It’s not a crime,” he said in an attempt to make Potter snap out of it. He didn’t want to blush again. “It’s just highly suspicious an altogether terrible idea.”

“Yeah?” Potter murmured, distracted. “Why?”

“Wh—because I hate you , Potter, and you hate me . We can’t just pretend otherwise.” Salazar, that hurt to say. But it was the truth, whether he liked it or not. Whether he liked Potter or not.

“What if I told you my resolution for 1999 is to not be your enemy anymore?”

Draco felt his cheeks heat up. “Don’t be daft, Potter. Shouldn’t your resolution be something like—for the world to stop being a terrible place, or world peace or some selfless nonsense?”

Potter was fully facing him now, and Draco was still weirdly sitting with his body towards the rest of the room. He brought his legs up, planting his feet towards Potter so that they were facing each other but there was still a barrier between them.

“That’s not who I am, Draco, and I know you know it.” Potter’s smile faded, and when their eyes met, the power of it took the air out of Draco’s lungs with a hitch. “I know you can see through this saviour bullshit everyone’s so obsessed with, especially these days. That’s—that’s why I kind of, sort of… like you.” He bit his lip, his eyes darting across the room to check no one was paying them any attention. “That, and the fact that you’re really cute.”

Draco's insides exploded in a display of fireworks.

“I—” he spluttered. “Well, okay, but e-even if you really mean that it's not 1999 yet, so you can't—you still don't—” Merlin, what was he trying to say? “Even if that _was_ your resolution, you—”

His words died in his throat as laughter bubbled out of Potter’s chest, carefree and warm. Salazar, he looked so young when he laughed. So joyful, and vibrant, and so utterly and amazingly _Potter_ it made Draco's chest ache with the longing to be surrounded by it, lost in its echo.

He watched, paralyzed, as Potter's hand landed on his knee.

“Sorry,” Potter mumbled. He was still smiling. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Draco was unable to help himself—he raised his chin and huffed. “I’m not uncomfortable,” he snapped, his voice squeaking pathetically. When Potter raised his eyebrows, he whimpered, “I’m not!”

Potter’s hand stroked the inside of Draco’s thigh, almost still at knee-height, ever so slightly. Not looking away from Draco’s face, Potter pushed his knee to the side and slowly, far too fucking slowly, leaned forward, invading Draco’s personal space.

“Then I guess you won’t mind if I do…”—he crawled all the way onto Draco’s lap—”this.”

As Potter’s fingers tangled in his hair, all common sense left Draco’s mind. He let his leg drop to the floor, his arms blindly wrapping themselves around Potter’s torso as he held onto Potter for dear life. They were so close, Draco wasn’t sure he was breathing anymore.

Potter leaned impossibly closer to him, resting his weight against the arm of the sofa. “May I…”

“Yes,” Draco breathed.

The first brush of their lips felt like melting. A low hum escaped Draco’s throat, and he was mentally getting ready to deny it had ever happened if Potter so much as snorted when suddenly,  the git caught his lower lip between his and gently, oh-so-slowly brushed it with the tip of his tongue.

Their mouths parted with a low sound, and Draco opened his eyes a moment before Potter did. They were barely breathing.

“God, I want you so much,” Potter murmured.

Draco trapped Potter’s hair between his fingers and brought their lips together once more.

“Five minutes!”

He barely heard Patil’s voice as it filled the room around them. He was too busy feeling Potter’s hip against his knee, shivering as their tongues brushed.

It was Potter who ended the kiss. Draco whimpered, but then Potter rested his head on Draco's chest and, just like that, Draco's fears for the new year just… seemed a little bit less scary.

Which was scary in itself, because it meant he was far more in love with Potter than he'd thought.

Crap.

“Oi, Blaise!” Finnigan exclaimed. “Seems like you're going to need to make a new resolution!”

Everyone giggled, and Draco pointedly looked at the hearth, feeling his cheeks heat up once again.

“Ignore them,” Potter murmured so that only Draco could hear him.

Draco let his hand caress the length of Potter’s arm. “Yeah.”

“Two minutes, lads!”

Everyone talked at the same time, and Draco almost didn’t hear him when Potter whispered his name against his chest.

“Huh?” He inquired.

Potter craned his neck so he was somewhat looking at Draco’s face from his chest. “What’s your New Year’s resolution?”

That annoying feeling of emptiness came flooding back, and Draco shrugged it off, saying, “I honestly have no idea.”

Potter nodded, a look of understanding on his face.

“I know what you mean,” he said. “I think the only thing that’s certain in my life right now is that I’m head over heels for you.”

_Merlin._

“Yeah, I feel that,” Draco replied casually. “Hm, perhaps I should turn _you_ into my New Year's resolution, too.” He smirked. “Do you think you're worthy of such an honour?”

Potter's smile was radiant as he shifted on top of Draco to kiss him again. “Try me.”

“Five!” the Patil twins said at the same time.

“Four!” everyone echoed. “Three! Two! One!”

Harry caught Draco's mouth with his.

“Happy new year!”

He smiled against Potter's lips. It really did feel like 1999 would be a good year.


End file.
